Legal advice: HSE publishes latest health and safety statistics

The Health and Safety Commission published the latest health and safety statistics for 2005/06 in early November and they make sobering reading for employers, employees and members of the public alike.

During the year 2005/06 an estimated two million people suffered from ill health which they thought was work related. Around three quarters of these cases related to musculoskeletal disorders - for example upper limb or back problems - stress, depression or anxiety.

The HSE estimated that there are approximately 6,000 occupational cancer deaths each year, with deaths from mesothelioma (caused by exposure to asbestos fibres) likely to increase to almost half that number in the next five to 10 years.

During the period more than 28,000 employees had an accident at work which resulted in a major injury and more than a third of those had injuries as a result of a slip or trip. Over 117,000 workers had more than three days off work due to their injuries. About a third of those reported the cause as lifting, handling or carrying items while at work.

Not just your staff…

Perhaps most worrying of all in the latest statistics is the fact that 384 members of the public were killed due to the work activity of a business and over 15,000 people were reported as having suffered an injury due to the work activity of a business or through visiting premises, and so on.

Could your premises be contributing to these statistics? Do you have a history of accidents, near misses, high absenteeism etc? Do you know what is causing it? Don't you think it would make good business sense to reduce the number of lost time accidents, reduce the threat of civil claims, accident investigation costs?

Accidents are not always the result of just one thing - often a combination of circumstances combine to cause an unexpected event. One of the greatest causes of accidents is poor management controls. Managers who do not take employee reports of defective equipment, faulty fittings, poor repair to floors etc, seriously will increase the risk of an accident happening. Turning a blind eye ('connivance' in legal jargon) to a hazard could land you in court if someone has an accident and it can be proved that you knew about the defects but did nothing to remedy them.

Whether you are a pub manager, licensee, tenant, leaseholder or freeholder you have duties to ensure that your premises are safe and that the health, safety and welfare of your employees is protected and that people who visit your pub are kept safe and, fundamentally, free from harm.

The right procedure

If accidents happen you must fully investigate them to find out the actual and underlying causes so you can implement changes to practices, procedures, maintenance standards etc to prevent a similar incident occurring again.

Near misses must also be fully investigated - these after all could be more important because in a near miss someone has 'almost' been hurt and if you can prevent a similar occurrence you will actually stop someone from being hurt in future.

Every publican should have an accident investigation procedure if they want to be seen to be proactively managing health and safety.

A robust accident investigation procedure will help in any due diligence defence if you should be unlucky enough to be prosecuted and it

will certainly be welcomed by your insurance company as you may be able to prove that the 'accident' didn't actually happen in the way described by the claimant and that their claim for compensation had been exaggerated.

'No win no fee' claims companies have created a culture of compensation and many people believe they are entitled to compensation if they have an accident, or suffer stress or emotional upset.

Many claims succeed, even if for only a few hundred pounds settled out of court, because employers and premises owners do not have sufficient evidence to rebut the claim.

Accident management and investigation procedures are not complicated and a logical and common sense approach will pay great dividends.

Make your life easier by having everything you need to investigate an accident to hand. Invest in an 'Accident Emergency Investigation Kit' - a red, blue or any coloured bag of useful tools, clearly labelled and kept in an accessible place.

Accident Investigation Kit

Suggested contents:

• Accident investigation report form
• Notebook, pen, paper
• Voice recorder/tape recorder (don't forget most mobile phones will record voice)
• Camera (disposable or digital) or again, the trusty mobile phone if it has camera or video capability
• Measuring tape
• Witness statement forms
• Any special equipment.

What issues should be considered when investigating an accident in licensed premises?

If your company, employer or organisation has a written accident investigation procedure you should follow it. If not, here are some pointers:

• Describe exactly where the accident happened
• Who was injured? Were they employee, contractor, member of the public?
• What were they doing?
• What equipment were they using?
• What time was it?
• What were the environmental conditions?
• What was the condition of the area or equipment?
• Are there defects such as: maintenance issues, worn flooring/trip hazards, poor lighting or broken guarding?
• Was there a safe system of work in place?
• Were risk assessments available?
• Had COSHH assessments been completed?
• Who witnessed what happened?
• What did they see happen, or what did they hear?
• What training had the employee had?
• What actions were taken immediately after the incident?
• Was the accident notifiable?
• What needs to be done to prevent it happening again?
• Is equipment routinely checked?
• Are maintenance records available?
• Had the work process been regularly reviewed and checked as part of safety monitoring?
• Did someone not do something they should have done?
• Were contractors involved? Had they had induction training and been made aware of any site specific hazards?

Top tips

Don't assume the customer had had too much to drink and this was the reason for their accident as you could find yourself having to answer for the offence of serving alcohol to someone who was or appeared to be drunk.

Act quickly, no matter how busy you are, to investigate an accident as you may need to put remedial measures in place to prevent a re-occurrence.

Remember to report an accident under Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) if someone breaks a bone, is taken to hospital, dies, is off work for more than three days or suffers from a listed industrial illness.

Remember to report to the local authority when a customer has an accident and is taken to the hospital from the premises - whether by ambulance, taxi, private car or any other mechanism.

There is no legal duty to investigate accidents - yet! But the HSE is considering bringing in a formal code of practice which will require all employers and others to investigate accidents and act on their findings.

Your pub may not be as safe as you think it is but knowing when, where and why you have accidents will help you put it right.